Henry family lawyer: DJ Henry autopsy showed alcohol in blood

Danroy "DJ" Henry had a blood-alcohol level of 0.128 during his autopsy, but the lawyer for the Easton native's family says that does not prove he was drunk when police fatally shot him outside a bar in suburban New York.

The Enterprise, Brockton, MA

Writer

Posted Nov. 18, 2010 at 12:01 AM
Updated Nov 18, 2010 at 6:11 PM

Posted Nov. 18, 2010 at 12:01 AM
Updated Nov 18, 2010 at 6:11 PM

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.

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Danroy "DJ" Henry had a blood-alcohol level of 0.128 during his autopsy, but the lawyer for the Easton native's family says that does not prove he was drunk when police fatally shot him outside a bar in suburban New York. "The information we have is that he was totally functional and coherent in the period before, and we have no indication that he was impaired from anyone we've talked to," attorney Michael Sussman said in a telephone news conference.

Sussman said the blood-alcohol level came from a lab hired by the Henry family, which has asked the federal Department of Justice to take over the investigation.

Henry was at the wheel of a Nissan Altima on Oct. 17 in Thornwood, N.Y. Police said Henry, a 20-year-old Pace University football player, sped away and hit two officers after a patrolman knocked on his car window.

Henry's blood-alcohol limit at the time of his autopsy was above New York's threshold of 0.08, at which drivers are presumed to be intoxicated. Sussman said the blood sample provided by the Westchester County medical examiner to the lab hired by the family -- NMS Labs of Willow Grove, Pa. -- was not labeled as to the time it was taken or from what part of the body.

Sussman said that means it is possible that Henry's blood-alcohol level increased between the time he was killed and the time the autopsy was performed. Sussman said he was told the autopsy was performed within two days of the shooting. Sussman said the tests showed no drug use, legal or illegal.

The Westchester district attorney's office would not comment.

Witnesses have disputed the police account of the incident, and a Westchester County grand-jury investigation is under way.

Sussman said that on Sunday, family members and others would take part in an educational forum at a church in White Plains, N.Y., and then hold a protest outside the Westchester County Courthouse.